Quick Answer
The answer is Amazon GuardDuty, AWS Network Firewall, and AWS WAF. GuardDuty uses machine learning and threat intelligence to continuously monitor for suspicious network traffic patterns like unusual DNS requests or port probing across AWS accounts and workloads. AWS Network Firewall provides deep packet inspection at the VPC perimeter, using stateful and stateless rule groups to detect anomalies such as protocol violations or malicious IP communication, while AWS WAF filters HTTP/S traffic at the application layer to block common exploits like SQL injection or cross-site scripting that indicate malicious intent. On the SCS-C02 exam, this triad tests your ability to match detection services to the OSI layer they protect—GuardDuty for broad account-level threat detection, Network Firewall for VPC-level network inspection, and WAF for web-facing application traffic. A common trap is confusing AWS Shield Advanced (a DDoS mitigation service) with these detection-focused tools. Memory tip: think "GNW" for GuardDuty, Network Firewall, and WAF—each covers a different scope: account, network, and app.
This SCS-C02 practice question tests your understanding of security logging and monitoring. Match the stated requirement to the specific cloud service, access model, or configuration option — many options are valid in isolation but not for this scenario. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Which THREE AWS services can be used to detect and alert on suspicious network traffic patterns? (Choose three.)
AWS Network Firewall
Network Firewall provides intrusion detection and prevention.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata for analysis.
AWS Systems Manager
Why wrong: Systems Manager manages instances, not network analysis.
AWS CloudTrail
Why wrong: CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic.
Amazon GuardDuty
GuardDuty analyzes VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs, and CloudTrail for threats.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
AWS Network Firewall
AWS Network Firewall is correct because it is a managed firewall service that can inspect network traffic at the VPC level using stateful and stateless rules. It can detect suspicious patterns such as port scans, malicious IP addresses, or protocol anomalies and generate alerts via Amazon CloudWatch metrics and logs, enabling real-time notification of suspicious network traffic.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
AWS Network Firewall
Why this is correct
Network Firewall provides intrusion detection and prevention.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Amazon VPC Flow Logs
Why this is correct
Flow Logs capture network traffic metadata for analysis.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
AWS Systems Manager
Why it's wrong here
Systems Manager manages instances, not network analysis.
AWS CloudTrail
Why it's wrong here
CloudTrail logs API calls, not network traffic.
Amazon GuardDuty
Why this is correct
GuardDuty analyzes VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs, and CloudTrail for threats.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates often confuse AWS CloudTrail (API logging) with network traffic monitoring, or assume AWS Systems Manager has security detection capabilities, when in fact neither service inspects network packet flows or traffic patterns.
Detailed technical explanation
AWS Network Firewall uses Suricata-based intrusion prevention system (IPS) rules to inspect traffic at layers 3–7, supporting custom rule groups for signature-based detection. Amazon VPC Flow Logs capture metadata (source/destination IP, port, protocol, packet count) at the network interface level, which can be streamed to Amazon Athena or CloudWatch Logs Insights for pattern analysis. Amazon GuardDuty uses machine learning and integrated threat intelligence (e.g., from AWS Security Hub and third-party feeds) to analyze VPC Flow Logs, DNS logs, and CloudTrail events for anomalies like unusual outbound data transfers or brute-force attempts.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A healthcare organisation deploys an application with a public-facing web tier and a private database tier. The database subnet has no public IP and only accepts connections from the web tier's security group. Questions like this test whether you can design cloud network isolation using VNets/VPCs, subnets, and security group rules.
What to study next
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FAQ
Security Logging and Monitoring — This question tests Security Logging and Monitoring — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: AWS Network Firewall — AWS Network Firewall is correct because it is a managed firewall service that can inspect network traffic at the VPC level using stateful and stateless rules. It can detect suspicious patterns such as port scans, malicious IP addresses, or protocol anomalies and generate alerts via Amazon CloudWatch metrics and logs, enabling real-time notification of suspicious network traffic.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
This SCS-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SCS-C02 exam.
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